2 Gareth Edwards CBE
The former Wales and British and Irish Lions scrum-half is simply the greatest player in his position in history. Gareth Edwards is also considered by many to be one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
He was notorious for his pace but also had an unexpected strength for a leaner player. He made 53 caps for Wales as well as making ten appearances for the British & Irish Lions, featuring on tours in 1968, 1971 and 1974.
The second tour, to New Zealand, is still the only victorious Lions tour to the Land of the Long White Cloud. During the third, to South Africa in 1974, was the greatest ever Lions jaunt, in which the tourists played 22 matches and remained unbeaten.
Did you know: In 2004 a statue of Gareth Edwards was erected in the St David’s Shopping Centre in Cardiff, as a memorial to his magnificent play for the country.
1 Joost van der Westhuizen
Springbok icon Joost van der Westhuizen was a national hero, always giving full commitment and always guaranteeing supreme physicality in every game he played in.
The intelligent tactician played a key role in the Springboks’ 1995 World Cup triumph in South Africa. He scored a fantastic 38 tries in 89 Tests, but post-Rugby Van der Westhuizen faced his biggest challenge yet after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2011. We lost the legend in early February 2017.
He is not only one of the greatest scrum-halves of all time but probably one of the top 10 players in the history of the game.
Did you know: The scrum-half was inducted into the IRB International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.